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Wacky Diets That Won't Go Away

You’ve seen the commercials (possibly at 3:00am): drink this greenish-brown mixture three times a day, cut out a certain food group, rinse and repeat. Not all diets are gimmicky and downright suspect, but when there’s a profit-making business behind them, you have reason to question the legitimacy and effectiveness of such diets.

Lisa Drayer is a nutritionist who recently appeared on CBS’s "The Early Show" to debunk these fad diets. Drayer specifically addresses four big ones: the Grapefruit Diet, the Juice Fast Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet and the Weight Loss Cure. It’s less important how ridiculous or restrictive a diet sounds, and more important to consider the risks of ingesting goodness knows what.

For instance, the Weight Loss Cure diet involves being injected with HCG, a hormone originating from the urine of expecting women. It supposedly curbs appetite so that you only need to consume 500 calories a day! Kind of sounds like…starvation? While this diet has been debunked by the FDA, it still “sells.” Some of the diets that center around one food, such as cabbage or grapefruit, both result in loss of water, NOT fat. Yes, you may shed pounds, but not the ones you want to!

If you’re thinking about trying your hand (and gut) at one of the above, or you already have, take a few minutes to read over her thoughts. Do you have an experience to share, positive or negative, with a fad diet?

The only way to keep weight off is to make a lifestyle change. Eat less, exercise more. And if you eat better foods (take it easy on fried foods, chips, sodas) then the weight will come off more quickly.

Now, unless you're willing to stand up in front of your friends and say, "From now on I am living a new lifestyle. I am only going to eat lettuce for dinner. Ever. Again" then skip the fad diets.

I've tried a couple of fad diets but they've only lasted a day (or sometimes just a few hours!) because I just love food so much. I rather eat healthy, yummy foods like peanut butter and popcorn than drink an odd liquid for a week to shed some pounds.

When I was young my mom made me do the cabbage soup diet...it totally didn't work, I just binged when she wasn't looking because I was so hungry! It screwed me up for the longest time because I didn't know how to eat regular, healthy meals. I would not recommend fad diets—just good portion control and exercise.

I went on an iceberg lettuce diet when I was in high school...i made it up myself! Nothing but iceberg lettuce, a little bit of olive oil and vinegar. i lose weight, but not for long!
p.s. i would NEVER do that weight loss cure diet. that is gross.

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